About

What is Reskilling?

The Ann Arbor-Ypsi ReSkilling Festival and monthly events aim to help people learn skills for resilient, low-energy living—from canning to meditation to quilting and starting a garden. The concept of reskilling is about preparing for our low-energy future by acquiring new skills related to what we eat, wear, use and live in. As Transition Towns founder Rob Hopkins points out, “We no longer have many of the basic skills our grandparents took for granted.” Reskilling means providing for ourselves and our communities by growing, preserving, creating, building, and teaching.

From 2009 through 2013, we hosted 5 ReSkilling Festivals, each a day-long — with our largest attendance at 225 people. We are now also holding monthly events. The festivals and monthly events are free and open to the public, and each one is pretty different! Localizers around the country have contacted us about our success with this event.

Want to learn more? Click here for a CTN interview with our very own Laura Smith